The significance of errors in primary accounting documents: tax risks (Orlova E.). Selections from magazines for an accountant Recalculation of tax liabilities

06 July

Question. When accepting raw materials, the seller and buyer have a difference in weight within the limits of natural loss, so the seller does not agree with the change in weight in the invoice. This can be either an error in the scales or other reasons (the error can be either upward or downward). This error does not apply to the container curtain. How can the buyer take into account the weight difference in accounting and tax accounting?

Answer. In accordance with the Methodological recommendations for the development of norms of natural loss, approved. By Order of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia dated March 31, 2003 No. 95, the natural loss of inventory (hereinafter referred to as C&M) should be understood as loss (reduction in the mass of goods while maintaining its quality within the limits established by regulatory legal acts, resulting from natural changes in biological and (or ) physical and chemical properties of goods.

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated November 12, 2002 No. 814 established the procedure for approving norms of natural loss during storage and transportation of inventories (hereinafter referred to as the Decree).

According to paragraph 1 of the Resolution, the norms of natural loss used to determine the permissible amount of irrecoverable losses from shortages and (or) damage to inventories are developed taking into account the technological conditions of their storage and transportation, climatic and seasonal factors affecting their natural loss, and are subject to revised as necessary, but at least once every 5 years.

Paragraph 2 of the Resolution establishes that the development and approval of norms of natural loss for various types of products are carried out by the relevant Ministries. For example, the Order of the Ministry of Industry and Science of the Russian Federation dated February 25, 2004 No. 55 approved the norms of natural loss of cargo weight in the metallurgical industry during transportation by rail, the Order of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation dated October 1, 2008 No. 173 approved the norms of natural loss when storing wood and its processed products, etc. d. In most cases, the norms of natural loss depend on the distance (km), duration (days) of transportation, as well as on the period in which transportation is carried out (autumn-winter, spring-summer).

Also, the error in weighing bulk cargo should not exceed the limits established by the relevant GOSTs “Weighing Accuracy Standards”. For example, a weighing error of 1.75% is established in clause 2 of GOST 11762-87 “Brown coal, hard coal, anthracite, oil shale, peat and briquettes. Accuracy standards for determining mass", or in the "Rules for the transportation of goods" (approved by the Ministry of Railways of the USSR) (as amended on December 29, 2001) for enriched non-ferrous metal ores (concentrates), the error is set to ±0.5% of the mass of the cargo according to GOST 12166-66 and 12502-67.

Based on the above documents, the error when accepting cargo should not exceed the limit values ​​of the norms of natural loss during storage and transportation, as well as the limit values ​​of the error of scales during acceptance. As a rule, these norms and errors are stipulated in supply contracts between suppliers and buyers.

If, upon acceptance of the goods, significant deviations are revealed that exceed the norms, then upon acceptance of the goods the buyer must draw up a report and file a claim either with the supplier or with the carrier of the goods.

So, based on the essence of the issue, the maximum norms for deviations of the goods have been agreed upon between the supplier and the buyer (unfortunately, its nomenclature is not indicated in the question), therefore, after the transfer of ownership of the goods, the supplier does not adjust sales for underload or overload resulting from storage, transportation and errors of scales during shipment and upon acceptance.

Accounting

In accordance with the Chart of Accounts and instructions for its use, as well as clause 58 of the Guidelines for accounting of inventories, approved. By Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated December 28, 2001 No. 119n, the amount of shortages within the limits of natural loss norms is determined by multiplying the amount of missing materials by the contract price of the supplier. Other amounts, including transportation costs and value added tax related to them, are not taken into account. The amount of shortages and damage is written off from the credit of account 60 “Settlements with suppliers and contractors” in correspondence with the debit of account 94 “Shortages and losses from damage to valuables”. At the same time, the missing materials are written off from the “Shortages and losses from damage to valuables” account and are charged to transportation and procurement costs or to the accounts of deviations in the cost of material inventories. Reflection of losses of inventories within the limits of natural loss during transportation can be carried out in several ways: on accounts 10 (as part of TZR), 16, 20 or 23.

If the quantity of goods received turned out to be greater than the quantity specified in the documents, and the supplier did not make a claim to the organization, because the difference in the weights was formed due to the established standard of error, then goods and materials received free of charge are credited to account 91/1 “Other income” at market value, which can be recognized as the contract price of the supplier.

In accordance with Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 08/09/2012 No. 03-07-08/244, amounts of value added tax related to losses during the transportation of inventory items are accepted for deduction within the limits of natural loss rates.

According to the Ministry of Finance of Russia, if the organization experiences a loss in excess of the established chapters. 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the amounts of VAT presented by suppliers related to this loss are not accepted for deduction similarly to the amounts of VAT on excess expenses (paragraph 2, clause 7, article 171 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated January 11, 2008 No. 03-07- 11/02, dated 08/15/2006 No. 03-03-04/1/628, dated 07/31/2006 No. 03-04-11/132, dated 11/05/2004 No. 03-04-11/196).

Income tax

In accordance with paragraphs. 2 clause 7 art. 254 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, losses from shortages and (or) damage during storage and transportation of inventories within the limits of natural loss norms approved in the manner established by the Government of the Russian Federation are equated to material costs.

It should be noted that the norms of natural loss are not approved for all goods.

But the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation have repeatedly given explanations in Letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 23, 2014 No. 03-03-RZ/24762, dated June 21, 2006 No. 03-03-04/1/538, Federal Tax Service for Moscow dated July 30, 2010 No. 16-15/080278@, dated November 17, 2008 No. 19-12/106707 that the taxpayer, when calculating the tax base for income tax, does not have the right to attribute losses from shortages and (or) damage during storage and transportation of data to material expenses inventory items, if loss norms for them are not established by the legislator, since in accordance with paragraph 2 of Resolution No. 814, the relevant ministries are authorized to develop and approve norms of natural loss.

The cost of the excessively capitalized quantity of goods and materials according to clause 2 of Art. 254 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is defined as the amount of income recorded in the manner prescribed by paragraphs 8, 13 and 20 of part two of Article 250 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Let us recall that from January 1, 2015, property received free of charge is recognized when written off as expenses for tax purposes in the full amount recognized upon capitalization.



Accounting is carried out on the basis of primary accounting documents. It is the primary document that must document every fact of economic life (Part 1, Article 9 of the Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ). The primary document is drawn up when performing a transaction, and if this is not possible, immediately after its completion (Part 3, Article 9 of Federal Law No. 402-FZ of December 6, 2011). Is it possible to correct the primary and, if so, how to do it?

Primary details must be correct

When drawing up a primary document, first of all, it is necessary to ensure that it contains the required details. After all, without them, the primary document has no legal force.

The mandatory details of the primary document include (Part 2 of Article 9 of the Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ):

• Title of the document;
• date of document preparation;
• name of the organization that compiled the document;
• content of the fact of economic life;
• the value of the natural and monetary measurement of a fact of economic life, indicating the units of measurement;
• the names of the positions of the persons who completed the transaction, operation and those responsible for its execution, or the persons responsible for the execution of the accomplished event;
• signatures of persons indicating their surnames and initials.

If there is an error in any of the given details of the primary document, it must be corrected.

How to fix a paper primary

Of course, if it is necessary to correct an internal document, the person who compiled it can redo such a document and re-sign it. But often this is how they correct even the primary report, which is compiled for external purposes and has already been transferred to the counterparty.

However, the Ministry of Finance and the tax department do not allow replacing an erroneous document previously accepted for accounting with a new one. It is necessary to “officially” make corrections to the primary document, and return the already corrected document to the counterparty (Letters of the Ministry of Finance dated October 23, 2017 No. 03-03-10/69280, Federal Tax Service dated January 12, 2018 No. SD-4-3/264).

Let us remind you that in general, corrections to the source document are allowed. To do this, you need to cross out the incorrect indicator in the document, indicate the correct one and provide (Part 7, Article 9 of the Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ):

• date of correction;
• signatures of the persons who compiled the document being corrected, indicating their last names and initials.

The correction is usually also accompanied by the inscription “Believe the Corrected.”

Uncorrectable primary

It is not allowed to correct cash and bank documents (clause 16 of Order of the Ministry of Finance dated July 29, 1998 No. 34n). If, for example, an error was made in the cash settlement or payment order, a new document is drawn up with the correct data.

Errors in the invoice are corrected in a similar way. A new document is drawn up, where the date and number of the original invoice containing errors are indicated on line 1, the serial number and date of corrections are indicated on line 1a, and the correct values ​​are indicated in the remaining lines and columns (clause 7 of the Rules for filling out an invoice, approved by Government Decree dated December 26, 2011 No. 1137).

How to correct an electronic document?

If the primary document, compiled in the form of an electronic document signed with an electronic signature, contains errors, then a new electronic document is created. An erroneous electronic primary may be recalled. The specific procedure for making corrections to an electronic source document will depend on the operator through which the electronic documents are exchanged.

Are arithmetic errors, typos and corrections allowed in the primary? The answer depends on the type of document and the significance of the defect. Some errors may lead to a distortion of the balance, others will become the basis for adjusting tax deductions not in favor of the taxpayer, and some will go unnoticed.

Assessment of the significance of errors in the primary source

Types of errors when preparing primary documentation:

• the use of primary forms not approved by order of the head of the enterprise;
• one or more required details are missing;
• the document does not indicate responsible persons and does not contain their signatures;
• there are corrections;
• the form is filled out illegibly;
• Instead of a pen, a pencil is used for filling;
• There are no dashes in empty cells and columns.

Corrections to source documents are permitted for a limited list of forms. The procedure is relevant if the mistake made is significant. The degree of significance is assessed based on the criteria of the ability to identify all data and compliance with the requirements of the tax authorities.

Examples of unacceptable errors:

1. The date of the documentation is missing or it is misspelled.
2. It was allowed to use false information in the TIN number.
3. The amount of work performed is incorrectly indicated.
4. The document was signed by an unauthorized person.
5. Are arithmetic errors allowed in the primary report - incorrect reflection of the quantity of goods or its value, the amount of calculated tax can lead to a tax dispute.
6. There is a discrepancy between the meaning of the amounts in the numerical version and when indicated in words.

Methods for correcting errors in primary documents

In what cases can errors be left without correction:

• if the mistake made does not interfere with the identification of the seller and buyer;
• if it is possible to determine the names of goods, works or services without resorting to additional documents;
• it is possible to clearly identify property rights and their value (letter of the Ministry of Finance dated 02/04/2015 No. 03-03-10/4547).

Corrections to primary accounting documents are made on the basis of clause 7 of Art. 9 of Law No. 402-FZ “On Accounting”. The following methods can be used:

1. Entering correct data into the original version of the document. In this case, the incorrect value is crossed out with one line, and new text or numerical data is written on top. It is important that you can make out both the old numbers with words and the new ones. Next to the strikethrough, the inscription “corrected” is placed, which is certified by the signatures of the responsible persons and the date of amendments to the document must be indicated.
2. Creating a correction document is similar to creating a correction invoice.
3. The red reversal method is necessary to cancel previously posted documents.

Corrections in primary documents should not be made using an eraser, proofreaders, or erasing with blades. If it is necessary to eliminate a defect in the form of missing details, then it is allowed to add them by hand. This rule also applies to documents typed on a computer.

Which primary documents are not allowed to be corrected?

Instructions of the Central Bank dated March 11, 2014, No. 3210-U, established that the entered data cannot be corrected in cash documents (clause 4.7). Such forms include expenditure and receipt orders. But the cash book with payroll is included in the category of documentation for which adjustments are allowed. In the case of a cash book, the procedure for making changes is as follows:

1. Correction of errors in primary accounting documents drawn up on paper must be accompanied by an indication of the date of the changes, signatures with transcripts of the persons responsible for filling out this form.
2. Electronic documents that have already been signed cannot be modified.

If an error was made several days ago, and was noticed only now, when it distorts the data in subsequent days, all sheets with incorrect information must be corrected. If the error consists of missing a blank sheet of the cash book, this blank form is crossed out and subject to cancellation.

Which primary documents are not allowed to be corrected? In addition to cash registers, it is not allowed to make adjustments to payment forms (clause 2.4 of the Regulations dated June 19, 2012 No. 383-P). Corrections to strict reporting forms that are used when making cash payments are also prohibited.

If an erroneous entry was made in one of these documents when filling out, the accountant cannot cover up the numbers or inscriptions with a proofreader, write in with a pen or cross out the data reflected in the form. In this case, only the execution of a new copy of the order or instruction is allowed.

Mandatory details of invoices are listed in paragraphs 5 and 5.1 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. And the procedure for certifying invoices with signatures of persons is in paragraph 6 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Previously, paragraph 2 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation stated that if the procedure for issuing invoices established by paragraphs 5, 5.1 and 6 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is violated, then this is grounds for refusal to deduct VAT. And if other inaccuracies are made, the deduction is justified.

In fact, tax officials found fault with the smallest omissions in the preparation of invoices, considering them grounds for refusing to deduct VAT. This approach has given rise to extensive practice.

According to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (definitions dated April 18, 2006 No. 87-O and dated February 15, 2005 No. 93-O), they cannot refuse a deduction if the invoice can determine the counterparties of the transaction, their addresses, the object of the transaction, the quantity (volume ) goods (works, services), their price, the amount of accrued tax.

Then Federal Law No. 318-FZ of December 17, 2009 appeared, which established judicial norms in paragraph 2 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

But Chapter 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not specify defects in primary documents that can be used to account for expenses in tax accounting.

The original version of the Roadmap “Improving Tax Administration” provided that a rule would be introduced into the Tax Code on the insignificance of errors in primary documents, similar to the requirements for invoices.

However, the draft amendments to the Tax Code were not developed by the scheduled date. And now legislators have entrusted the development of amendments to

What errors in the primary data are permissible for profit tax purposes?

In general, tax accounting data is confirmed by primary documents (Article 313 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If they are not there, this is a gross violation of the rules for accounting for income and expenses and objects of taxation, for which sanctions are provided under Article 120 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In practice, critical errors in the primary source are equated by inspectors with the absence of documents.

Let us note that the list of primary documents itself in Chapter 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is not specified (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 10, 2014 N 03-03-RZ/16288, Federal Tax Service of Russia dated September 7, 2012 No. 16-15/084482). At the same time, tax authorities require that the primary data used for tax purposes comply with the requirements of accounting legislation.

Let us recall that the mandatory primary accounting details are listed in Article 9 of the Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ “On Accounting”.

Chapters 21 and 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation do not prohibit taking into account primary documents with inaccuracies. In this case, it cannot be said that the expenses are not documented (determination of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated March 25, 2009 No. VAS-2742/09, resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga-Vyatka District dated 12.27.12 No. A43-10748/2012).

The importance of the fact that correct primary documents must first of all confirm the authenticity of transactions follows from letter No. SA-4-9/8250 dated 05.24.11.

It’s another matter if, when comparing the primary data associated with the same operation, controllers discover a contradiction in the information. Then there is reason to suspect dishonesty. A similar example, when the primary accounting document for writing off materials for production erroneously indicated a date later than the date of sale of products made using these materials, is given in the letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated August 16, 2011 No. AS-4-3/13346.

In letter dated 02.12.15 No. GD-4-3/2104, the Federal Tax Service of Russia emphasizes that the primary documents developed by the taxpayer may contain not only mandatory, but also additional details.

In implementing the provisions of the Road Map, the Russian Ministry of Finance explains the following. Errors in primary documents that allow the tax authorities of the seller, buyer, the name of goods (works, services), property rights, their value, must be accepted.

A slightly more concise, but similar in meaning, explanation was previously made in the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 08.28.14 No. 03-03-10/43034.

As you can see, the wording of official explanations from officials regarding errors in the primary data is similar to the provisions of Chapter 21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation on inaccuracies in invoices.

Is it possible to get a VAT deduction on a primary document with errors?

As a general rule, in order to recognize a VAT deduction, not only invoices are required, but also the corresponding primary accounting documents (clause 1 of Article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

We see errors in the preparation of primary documents, as a reason for refusing to deduct VAT, in the decisions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North-Western District dated June 25, 2009 No. A44-3595/2008, and the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the West Siberian District dated November 6, 2009 No. A27-1367/2009.

Although other judicial acts recognize deficiencies in the preparation of primary documentation as removable (resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North Caucasus District dated August 26, 2008 No. F08-5040/2008).

The Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District, in its resolution dated November 30, 2007 No. KA-A41/12524-07, indicated that incorrect execution of the invoice is not grounds for refusal to deduct VAT. This circumstance can only indicate a violation of accounting rules.

Please note that in the set of primary documents confirming the taxpayer’s right to deduct VAT, there may be documents from third parties drawn up with errors. The taxpayer cannot correct them on his own.

But even in this case, judges may decide that a technical error of a third party (for example, a carrier) when registering the primary document cannot affect the recognition of expenses and VAT reimbursement (Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the East Siberian District dated November 14, 2006 No. A19-12766/06-20 -F02-5994/06-S1).

This court decision is also of interest to income tax payers, since in order to justify expenses on documents with errors, someone else’s primary accounting documents can be used.

How do errors in the primary tax affect other taxes?

To confirm the correctness of other taxes, including taxes paid when applying special regimes, primary documents are also used.

Is it possible to apply in this case the norms expressed in the letter dated 02.12.15 No. GD-4-3/2104?

Can. In this case, the taxpayer should document not only certain information important for calculating the corresponding tax, but also other circumstances of the documented fact of economic life that determine the application of the appropriate taxation procedure.

Afanasy Utekhin,

tax consultant

Photo by Vsevolod Alshansky, Kublog

Errors in documents - invoices and primary documents (paper or electronic) are inevitable. After all, as we know, no one is immune from mistakes. And this is not always the fault of the company that draws up the documents. It happens that during the process of their registration, the details of the company itself or its counterparty or the terms of the transaction change.

In rare cases, accounting documents that have errors in their design can be left in the form in which they were originally drawn up. Most often it is necessary to make corrections to them. But how to do it correctly? What legal requirements must be taken into account?

Errors in documents can be identified by any of the parties to the transaction, but they must, of course, be corrected by the person who compiled the documents. The consent of the counterparty for this (unless we are talking about a mutual agreement of the parties to change the cost of previously shipped goods, services provided, work performed) is not required. It is enough just to notify the counterparty of this fact and, accordingly, after eliminating the errors, send him corrected copies of the documents.

As a rule, errors are made simultaneously in both the primary document (waybill, deed) and the invoice, although in practice there may be situations when only one of them needs to be corrected.

The grounds and rules for eliminating errors in the execution of the above-mentioned documents are essentially similar: significant errors are subject to mandatory correction. But there are also some differences, which are precisely due to different approaches to determining the degree of significance of the error identified in the primary accounting document or invoice.

The procedure for correcting errors in an invoice, which is a tax accounting document, is determined by Ch. 21 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In particular, its provisions, in addition to the primary document, allow taxpayers to draw up two more types of documents: corrective and corrected (Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Situations in which it is necessary to draw up one or another invoice should be distinguished.

Adjustment invoice

Despite the fact that the adjustment invoice has its own serial number and the date of preparation is indicated in it, it is inherently addition to the original invoice. After all, it is equal with previously reflected information about the transaction performed additionally reflected new cost and quantitative indicators of previously shipped goods, work performed or services provided, as well as the final result of the adjustment made (that is, an increase or decrease in indicators) (clauses 1, 2 of the Rules for filling out an adjustment invoice).

Tax norms (clause 3 of article 168, clause 10 of article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) require the preparation of an adjustment invoice only under certain circumstances(which lead to changes in price (tariff) and volume (quantity) of shipment) and upon reaching a mutual agreement between the parties to the transaction regarding the adjustment of value (quantity or price). Certain circumstances include, but are not limited to:

Taking into account the form of the adjustment invoice and the rules for filling it out, we can confidently say that the reason for drawing up such a document is not the correction of significant errors made during its preparation, but the adjustment of the cost (quantity or price) agreed upon by the parties for the transaction performed. In short, the mentioned correction has nothing to do with correcting errors.

Corrected invoice

It is necessary to correct an invoice if there are significant errors in the original document. These are recognized as errors that prevent the taxpayer from exercising the right to deduct “input” VAT. If the error is not recognized as such, changes to the invoice need not be made.

Significant errors

The named invoice errors are listed in Table 1.

Table 1

Type of error	How does it manifest itself?	Line, column of the invoice
It is impossible to determine who exactly is the seller or buyer (clause 2, clause 5, clause 2, clause 5.1, article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)	The information in the name, address, TIN/KPP of the seller or buyer is incorrect*	Lines 2, 2a, 2b, 6,6a, 6b
It is impossible to determine which particular product, work or service was sold or purchased (clause 5, clause 5, clause 4, clause 5.1, article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)	The name of the product, work or service is incorrectly specified	Box 1
It is impossible to determine the cost of shipped goods (work, services) or the amount of advance payment (clause 8, clause 5, clause 5, clause 5.1, article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)	For example, the following are indicated incorrectly: Name of currency (clause 6.1 clause 5, clause 4.1 clause 5.1 article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation); Quantity of goods (works, services) (clause 6, clause 5, article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation); Price of goods (work, services) (clause 7, clause 5, article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)**	Line 7, columns 3, 4, 5
It is impossible to determine the VAT rate (clause 10, clause 5, clause 6, clause 5.1, article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)	The rate indicated is 18%, and the tax is calculated based on the rate of 10% or for transactions specified in Art. 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, VAT is charged at a rate of 10 or 18%	Column 7
It is impossible to determine the amount of tax presented to the buyer (clause 11, clause 5, clause 7, clause 5.1, article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)	An arithmetic error was made when multiplying column 5 by column 7 or the indicators of the indicated columns were not filled in	Column 8
It is impossible to determine who signed the invoice (clause 6 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)	The invoice was endorsed by a person who does not have the authority to do so***	Lines for indicating full name and affixing signatures

*
If the invoice contains typos in the name of the buyer (capital letters are replaced by lowercase ones and vice versa, extra symbols are added (dashes, commas, etc.) that do not interfere with the identification of the buyer, then such an invoice is not a basis for refusal to accept deduction of tax amounts (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 05/02/2012 No. 03‑07‑11/130).

**
Invoices with arithmetic errors made in column 5 (it reflects the result of multiplying the indicators in columns 3 and 4), cannot be recognized as a basis for deduction of VAT amounts (letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated September 18, 2014 No. 03-07-09/46708, dated May 30, 2013 No. 03-07-09/19826).

***
Some courts (see Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service No. F03-2116/2014 of June 10, 2014 in case No. A51-17093/2013) believe that the signing of invoices by unidentified persons by virtue of clause 2 of Art. 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is already an independent basis for refusing to accept tax deductions for VAT. However, there are court decisions (see Resolution of the AS SKO dated June 11, 2015 No. F08-3452/2015 in case No. A32-26952/2012), in which the arbitrators recognized the signing of invoices by an unidentified and unauthorized person as an insignificant circumstance.

Let's summarize what has been said. It is necessary to prepare a corrected invoice if:

• admitted technical error. This is recognized as an error that arose as a result of incorrect entry of data on the price and (or) quantity of goods shipped (work performed, services rendered) into specialized programs used for accounting and tax accounting (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 25, 2015 No. 03‑07‑ 09/9433, dated 08/15/2012 No. 03‑07‑09/119, Federal Tax Service of Russia dated 02/01/2013 No. ED-4-3/1406@);
• admitted arithmetic error (that is, an error in calculations) (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 13, 2012 No. 03-07-09/34);
• the names, addresses, INN/KPP of the buyer and seller are incorrectly indicated;
• the invoice was signed by an unauthorized person.

If an error in the invoice does not prevent the identification of the seller, the buyer, the name of the goods (work, services), their value, as well as the tax rate and the amount of tax presented to the buyer, then new copies of invoices are not drawn up (clause 7 of the Rules for filling out an invoice -invoices).

Procedure for preparing an amended invoice

The corrected invoice is new an invoice (not an addition - like a correction invoice) that is issued in place of the incorrect document. The method of compilation - paper or electronic - does not matter in this case. Moreover, the corrected invoice is not assigned a new number and date, but the number and date of the original invoice are indicated (that is, the indicator of line 1 remains unchanged). At the same time, line 1a of the invoice is filled in, which reflects the serial number and date of correction. Other indicators of the new copy of the invoice, including new(initially blank) or updated(modified) are indicated in accordance with this document (paragraph 3, clause 7 of the Rules for filling out an invoice).

And one last thing. The stated procedure also applies when making corrections to an adjustment invoice (if significant errors are identified in a previously drawn up document) (clause 6 of the Rules for filling out an adjustment invoice).

Let us summarize the preliminary results. Summarizing the above, we will show schematically the differences between adjustment and corrected invoices.

Do primary documents need to be corrected?

So, the corrected invoice has been prepared. Do I need to make changes to the “primary”?

Invoices are issued on the basis of a primary document (waybill, certificate of services rendered or work performed). Therefore, if there was an error in the invoice, then it is almost guaranteed to be present in the primary document (“almost” - when both documents are compiled manually without the use of specialized automated accounting tools). And if the error is significant for the invoice, then it will be the same for the primary document. This conclusion is due to:

table 2

Required details primary document	List of significant errors on the invoice
Indicated: Title of the document; Date of document preparation; Name of the person who compiled the document; The value of the natural and (or) monetary measurement of a fact of economic life, indicating the units of measurement; Names of positions of persons responsible for document execution; Signatures and full names of the persons who signed the document	Incorrectly reflected: Name, address, INN/KPP of the seller and (or) buyer; Name of goods, works or services; Name, currency code; Number of goods (works, services); Price of goods (works, services); Applicable tax rate; Full names of persons authorized to sign invoices

You can develop the procedure for correcting primary documents yourself

We can provide the following arguments to substantiate this thesis.

Firstly, the possibility of making corrections to primary accounting documents is established by Part 7 of Art. 9 of the Accounting Law. It is also stipulated here that not every document is subject to correction. For example, you cannot change cash and bank documents (clause 4.7 of the Directive of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated March 11, 2014 No. 3210-U, clause 16 of the Regulations on accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation).

Secondly, the mechanism for making corrections to primary documents, Part 7 of Art. 9 of the Accounting Law is not regulated. Here only the minimum requirements for the content of the corrected primary document are established: a mandatory indication of the date the corrections were made, as well as identifying information about the persons who made this. Essentially, the norm sets out the basic rules proofreadingway making corrections, the procedure for which is given in Section. 4 Regulations on documents and document flow in accounting (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations).

Meanwhile, the absence in the Accounting Law of a detailed procedure for making corrections to primary accounting documents gives organizations a certain freedom. They have the right to develop a suitable method for making changes in the primary document, taking into account the peculiarities of document flow (of course, this point is necessary reflect in accounting policies).

By the way, the Ministry of Finance indicated that economic entities have such a right in Letter No. 07-01-09/2235 dated January 22, 2016. And this is fair, since in the case of using electronic documents, making corrections to them, for example, using the above-mentioned proofreading method is impossible.

Nuances that need to be taken into account when approving a method for correcting the “primary”

The following methods of making corrections to primary accounting documents are currently common.

1. Making corrections to the original accounting document.

The algorithm of actions in this case is defined in Section. 4 Provisions. This method is applied to documents compiled manually or in an automated way (that is, using specialized accounting programs, for example 1C: Accounting). Indeed, in the latter case, despite the seemingly electronic method of creating a document, it is not such, since in document management such a document is used as an ordinary paper one.

The procedure is as follows: the incorrect text or amounts are crossed out and the corrected text or amounts are written above the crossed out. Crossing out is done with one line so that the correction can be read. Elimination of the error must be indicated by the inscription “corrected” and confirmed by the signature of the persons who signed the document. The date of correction is also indicated.

The disadvantage of this method is the impossibility of using it if you need to make not one, but several corrections to the document (the latter becomes unreadable). It is also inconvenient when correcting bilateral documents, since changes must be made to both copies.

2. Issuing a new (corrective) document.

Let’s make a reservation right away that this method is based on the method of making corrections by analogy with the approved procedure for drawing up corrected invoices, which is prescribed in clause 7 of the Rules for filling out invoices. And the name is new (correcting) document- taken from the Recommendations of the NRBU Foundation BMC R-41/2013-KpR “Introducing corrections to primary documents”. Although, within the meaning of the question being analyzed and taking into account the analogy used with invoices, in this case it is more correct to talk about new (corrected) document. But in order not to confuse the reader, we will not deviate from the terminology used in these recommendations (while in fact we will be talking specifically about drawing up a new primary document to replace the incorrect one).

When applying this method, it is necessary to comply with the minimum requirements of Part 7 of Art. 9 of the Accounting Law: the new document drawn up must identify the corrected one by the date the correction was made and confirm its authenticity with the signatures (with transcript) of the persons who compiled the document.

note

Although, if errors are detected in a primary document, the Accounting Law does not provide for the replacement of a previously accepted primary accounting document with a new one (this, in particular, was pointed out by financiers in Letter No. 07-01-09/2235), the arbitrators nevertheless consider it possible to implement such a replacement.

For example, in the Resolution of the Nineteenth Arbitration Court of Appeal dated February 21, 2013 in case No. A64-3569/2012 it was noted: the law does not exclude the right the taxpayer and his counterparties to make corrections to invoices and primary documents drawn up in violation of the established procedure or containing false information about completed business transactions, and does not prohibit the taxpayer must eliminate the non-compliance of primary documents with the requirements of accounting legislation by making corrections to an incorrectly executed document, re-registering it, replacing it with one executed in the prescribed manner, and submit the re-registered primary documents to the tax authority or to the court to justify the legality of applying tax deductions or income tax expenses.

In part electronic documents The following needs to be clarified. Due to the technical features of their preparation, it is not possible to use the proofreading method for making corrections. Consequently, in the case of using electronic document management, the only possible option for eliminating errors is to draw up a new (corrective) document.

Currently, only electronic formats of some primary documents have been approved (see Letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated 02/09/2016 No. ED-4-2/1984@):

The Federal Tax Service announced the prospect of expanding the list of electronic primary documents in the near future in Letter No. ED-4-2/21577 dated December 9, 2015, indicating exactly what activities are being carried out in this area.

But let's return from prospects to reality. The formats of not all of the above primary documents provide a special field to reflect the number and date of correction. And this (as mentioned earlier) is a necessary attribute for eliminating errors in the “primary”. However, this problem can be solved quite easily. After all, an economic entity has the right to supplement the document with designated fields independently: for example, the form of an electronic primary document - an information field in which information about the number and date of correction will be reflected.

Let's summarize what has been said. Making corrections to invoices and source documents requires certain knowledge from the taxpayer making them. If errors are identified in invoices (we emphasize significant) it is necessary to draw up a new (this is important!) “corrective” document (regardless of the format of the original - paper or electronic). Moreover, there is no need to coordinate changes to the invoice with the counterparty.

Corresponding changes, as a rule, need to be made to the primary document (waybill, certificate of services rendered or work performed), since the invoice is issued on the basis of this document. And if the error is significant for the invoice, then it will probably be considered as such for the primary document.

An economic entity has the right to develop a method for making corrections to the primary document independently, taking into account the peculiarities of document flow. This possibility is due to the absence in the Accounting Law of a detailed mechanism for making corrections to primary accounting documents.

In practice, the following error resolution methods are common:

• making corrections to the original primary accounting document (the so-called proofreading method). You should not use proofreaders or clean up the text to correct primary accounting documents; such documents are invalid;
• registration of a new corrected copy of the primary document (similar to a corrected invoice).

Federal Law dated December 6, 2011 No. 402‑FZ “On Accounting” (hereinafter referred to as the Accounting Law) allows two ways to prepare primary documents: on paper and (or) in the form of an electronic document signed with an electronic signature. None of them is a priority, since an electronic document is equivalent to a paper one (of course, if they are executed and signed taking into account the requirements of the law). You can also prepare invoices in electronic form (clause 1 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 26, 2011 No. 1137 (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 1137).

See Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 04/01/2015 No. 03‑07‑09/18053.

See Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 13, 2012 No. 03‑07‑09/66.

See letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 12, 2012 No. 03‑07‑09/48, Federal Tax Service of Russia dated February 1, 2013 No. ED-4-3/1406@.

Approved by Resolution No. 1137.

By letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated February 12, 2015 No. GD-4-3/2104@, these clarifications were brought to the attention of territorial tax authorities and taxpayers.

Literally, the financiers listed in the said letter the qualifying signs of minor errors for primary documents. These are errors that do not prevent the identification of the seller, the buyer of goods (works, services), the names of goods (works, services) and their value, and other circumstances of the documented fact of economic life. Although this letter outlines an approach to shortcomings in documents in relation to income tax, we believe that it can be extended to VAT. After all, a condition for recognizing deductions, along with the presence of invoices, is the presence of primary documents on the basis of which goods (work, services) are accepted for accounting (clause 1 of Article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 29, 1998 No. 34n.

Approved by the USSR Ministry of Finance dated July 29, 1983 No. 105. Despite the advanced age of the Regulations, it is valid and is applied to the extent that does not contradict the Accounting Law.

As noted in the Resolution of the Tenth Arbitration Court of Appeal dated January 16, 2015 No. 10AP-14763/2014 in case No. A41-53651/14, unilateral change of information in primary documents without the mutual will of the parties is contrary to the law and does not entail legal consequences (see also Resolution of the First Arbitration Court of Appeal dated June 30, 2015 in case No. A43-27322/2014).

The text of the document can be found on the website www.bmcenter.ru.